I haven’t posted one of my own photos here before, largely because they’re completely rubbish (unless you like out-of-focus Golden Retriever’s bottoms), but I just wanted to share this one.

It was taken on the evening of President Obama’s inauguration as me and my two friends left a metro station in DC en route to a celebratory meal in a swanky restaurant.

To make ourselves feel better we dropped some money in the man’s cardboard box, but he didn’t respond, he was in another world.

It was a magnificent day in our lives, but just another day in his.

I thought of him again tonight after reading some emails from visitors to this blog, truly amazing people who give up so much of their time to do voluntary work to help people just like this man. We’ll never know his story, what happened in his life to reduce him to this, but it’s just incredibly heartening to know there are people out there doing their very best to help.

Many would say he’s just a a bum and a junkie, most probably inflicting misery on other people’s lives. That may be true, his woes may well be self-inflicted, but there but for the grace of God go all of us … and even if, like me, you’re not religious, the sentiment holds true.

So, just to say: thank you to all you wonderful people who quietly do the very best you can to help. While the keyboard warriors trash you on various – supposedly – progressive websites, you’re out in the real world trying to help real people in their real lives.